De Sa slams CAF bosses, Motsepe for inequalities at Afcon tourney
‘Stadiums built in the middle of poor residential areas’
Banned Egypt assistant coach Roger de Sa has hit back at CAF bosses, including Patrice Motsepe, for inequalities at the Africa Cup of Nation (Afcon) tournament.
The former Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits coach said that players came to the party and covered the tournament in glory with their exceptional performances, shielding a lot of negative things that were going on behind the scenes.
“In a lot of ways there’s been a lot of improvement. Fifa got involved and a lot of African countries want to emulate South Africa after the 2010 World Cup, and also give the Afcon a lot of the African flavour, and for the tournament to remain African,” De Sa told Sunday World.
“But it can be quite frustrating. I saw the CAF president Patrice Motsepe staying at the Hilton Hotel and flying in his private jet, and saying that we are ready to host this big tournament. This is while some of the teams were staying in bungalows, and the training pitches were not good,” he said.
“The grass was a problem to train on and it’s a fact, it’s a truth. The stadiums are good, the VIP booths are good. But the pitches are not the best.
“Algeria lost their bus, it went missing. They were travelling in kombis. Those multimillion-bucks state-of-the-art stadiums are plonked right in the middle of poor residential areas – it’s also something that stuck with me. We need to improve as a continent, we cannot be having such problems in 2022.”
De Sa is serving a four-match ban after he was sanctioned for a scuffle in the tunnel after their highly charged victory over Morocco. He watched The Pharaohs last two matches against Ivory Coast and Senegal from the stands.
“I was walking towards our change room and then a Moroccan and a CAF official pushed me from behind and I fell onto the floor. CAF media officer Lux September was there and he saw that incident. I am not a jellyfish and I was not going to keep quiet after that. There were a lot of emotions involved and a verbal altercation ensued. I then went to our changing room.
“A CAF official came, called me and then I was charged and banned. The whole incident and ban shocked me. But nothing surprises me anymore in football, I take it from where it comes from,” De Sa said.
He said he got a chance to meet award-winning referee Victor Gomes, whom he had a serious altercation with when he was still coaching Platinum Stars. He said that they have made up and he believes that Gomes has matured and is the best referee on the continent.
He said that working with Mohamed Salah and other superstars such as Mahmoud Trezeguet was a moment that he will forever cherish and also a feather in his coaching career.
“Those guys are very professional and make working with them easier. That is the difference in mentality between our players in the PSL and the players from north Africa. They take their careers seriously. Salah works as hard as the rest of the team and does not have prima donna tendencies.”
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfield stars and legends Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe Letsholonyane have explained their roles as the ambassadors of the PSL’S Nedbank Cup, currently in it’s Last 32 stage.
Shabba, as Tshabalala is popularly known, is famed for scoring South Africa’s 2010 World Cup opening thunderbolt goal against Mexico that led to wild celebrations in Bafana Bafana’s victory at Soccer City 12 years ago.
Tshabalala, who said their basic duty was to promote the tournament, is adamant his time to hang up his boots has not come.
“Nedbank [the sponsors] has a special feature whereby we make people aware of how to spend their hard-earned cash wisely, to be money savvy, especially sports people. As football players, we know how it is like, we talk from experience. We travel and follow the cup competition wherever the matches are played, mainly giving advice on how to be money-wise.
“We’ve also embarked on activations whereby we engage with people in the areas the matches are being played because this is the biggest tournament in the country.
“It pits teams from the lowest rungs of football, unknown teams from amateur level against the big guns in the PSL. It is unpredictable and full of upsets”, he said.
Tshabalala, 37, left Amakhosi in 2018 to join Turkish side BB Erzurumspor but returned only after one season.
He later joined Amazulu but left in the middle of the season as he was not getting game time. He is clubless.
Letsholonyane, famously known as Yeye, lamented the fact that while they attend the competition’s matches, there are no fans to interact with and motivate to support them to root for their clubs.
Like Tshabalala, Letsholonyane is a Bafana Bafana 2010 World Cup star but did not get the opportunity to play abroad. He has turned out for eight local clubs including Dangerous Darkies, PJ Stars, Jomo Cosmos, Chiefs, Supersport United Highlands Park and TS Darkies
“I’m done with playing, I’m a coach of the team I grew up playing for – Pimville Young Stars – any offer that comes my way must be a coaching job.”
Letsholonyane, 39, revealed that as a businessman he coowns a Soweto-based eatery with Tshabalala. He also co-owns and has shares as a director of Pimville Young Stars under the tutelage of founder and managing director Phudi Ditshego, whom he calls ntate (father) because of the affinity they have since he (Yeye) was a youngster.
He however lamented the closure of their restaurant/pub due to Covid-19 but is optimistic it will re-open soon, now that the restrictions are being eased.